via Haroon is this amazing and authenticated collection of photos of masjids surviving the devastation of the tsunami.
One commentator at Haroon's blog asks just what these photos are supposed to prove. They are not meant to prove anything. They simply are.
Did Allah preserve mere brick and stone? If so, then the same Allah allowed innocent children to be washed away. I reject both propositions, for they surely are either both true or both false.
But to be able to appreciate a miracle of symbolism, that is something else. Amidst tragedy, there are signs for the believer to remind them of their priorities. The masjid is the Sanctuary provided to the soul by Allah - and in a tragedy, one for the flesh as well. That when all the wrath of dunya came down upon the works of man, only those that are dedicated to the hereafter remained; this is fact, and one which the muslim will remember with humility and awe. That is the result if not the purpose of their survival.
Look with a leaden heart if you will at these photos. I see in them a promise of renewal. Those masjids will stand alone only for a little while - and they will be fuller than before.
And remember - there were human miracles as well...
